Ru-catalyzed oxidative dearomatization-hydroxylation of N-Boc indoles.

Ruthenium catalyzed oxidative dearomatization-hydroxylation of N-Boc indoles for the synthesis of 2-hydroxyindolin-3-ones was described. The N-Boc indoles can be transformed into 2-hydroxyindolin-3-ones with RuCl3·3H2O as catalyst, p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH·H2O) as promoter and tert-butyl peroxide (TBHP, 3.0 equiv) as oxidant in acetonitrile. The mechanism had been proposed on the basis of control experiments and isolation of intermediate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]